


Parchment Phoenixes

by runningonmusic



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Caretaking, F/M, Family, Past Abuse, Pre-Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-31 01:02:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21028649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runningonmusic/pseuds/runningonmusic
Summary: Part I. Kenna Hope did not have a normal childhood. A normal childhood was not an option when she'd been adopted by Albus Dumbledore at age 7. But as a natural Legilimens, and with her other abnormalities and personal history, being normal was never an option in the first place. Eventual Charlie/OC Pre-Philosopher's Stone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue:**

_Children are the most resilient beings in the entire universe. They recover from the hardest of hits: a large part of their recovery is based on their ability to grow, the neural connections in their brains aren't fully developed, and always have room to repair, or take control of other functions when necessary. Alas, a child's brain is the fastest learning thing in the world, as they absorb things like sponges and with no hesitation. What they see, what they hear, is often engrains itself into their heads. Phobias originate usually at childhood, taste aversions too. Likes and dislikes and preformed ideas, the world's stereotypes are taught and absorbed, unconsciously._

_Growing up, a child has little control over their environment. They cannot control their income, or even tell people what they want to do; their lives and experiences are developed at the whims of their parents, and they are victims to whatever the world puts them against._

_The lack of control becomes frustrating only with time when kids start to realize that it is possible to do something without the help of others. But often kids will begin their track to independence and start to walk on their own paths, usually onto the one laid out before them by society._

_One, small brunette's resilience was tested, right from the beginning of her life. Barely scraping into the world with a working heart, she was brought into was the harsh reality. It wasn't a soft entrance as those before her had been given. Her harsh awakening was into pain, a pain that would be forever present in her life. Still, it was her reaction to her hardships that would ultimately alter the lives of others_.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Hello and Welcome! This fanfiction has been on my mind for a long time, half-written mostly planned. I'm excited to start the journey of posting it and hearing your feedback.**

**I'd like to start with a disclaimer: Harry Potter is obviously not mine, and anything from the series is courtesy of my 15-year fandom.**

**Lots of love!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: Child Abuse/Mentions of Sexual Abuse**

**Chapter 1: 1983**

In the darkness of the mansion, a young girl padded lightly through the halls, careful of the places she stepped and the sounds she made, and glancing into the open doors as she went. Something had awoken her from her sleep before dawn, and it continued long enough for her to gather her courage and follow the sound. Even when she reached the grand staircase and peeked over the edge of the railing to hear laughter and screaming, she stayed silent. She stepped slowly and steadily down the stairs, a surprising amount of grace as her messy hair bobbed as she walked. Timidly, she reached the doorway, a light shone on the inside of the room. Even when the bloodcurdling screams of pain reached her ears, her innocent eyes looked around the corner unceasingly; a man stood with his wand pointed at a young woman. She was curled into a ball as close to the wall as she could get. Three other men laughed with him, standing to his side as they looked down at her. Cuts ran across her body and blood down her face, her naked legs.

There was more screaming, from the woman, before a green light flashed, and the men went quiet for a second before erupting with laughter. The one on the edge stopped, his eyes meeting hers in the doorway. He nudged the one in the middle, who finished buttoning his pants. When the black eyes met hers, she ducked back against the wall, knowing well enough that she had already been caught.

"Get in here." The man growled. Changing her posture, the young girl brushed her hair in front of her face and turned to walk in. She walked around the pale-faced woman, only to glance and see glossed over blue eyes wide open in fear, staring but unseeing. The young one continued forward as slowly as she could dare until she was in front of the humongous man who called her. "What'd I tell you 'bout when I got company?"

She stayed silent. Looking down to her feet as the other two fully grown men on either side of him chuckled.

"That's right Bitch-" A clean shove and she tripped over the non-breathing woman falling back onto her behind. Aside from a light grunt when she hit the ground, not a sound came out of her mouth. But the men laughed and pointed their wands at her. "Learn to stay out of the way, Dumbass." There was a collective chant as she was whisked into a world of pain, her body curling in on itself and shaking. Her small teeth bit into her tongue and her fingers cut into the skin of her hands as she struggled to stay quiet. When a second spell was sent her way, she let out a whimper, but nothing more. It seemed longer than it was, but when both the curses were canceled, she was kicked in the stomach, and then in the head. Shaking, she did nothing to resist being lifted by her hair to meet the man's eyes. "Lesson learned you little killer." The three left her on the floor and dragged the other woman by a leg across the room and into another, two disappearing with a pop.

Curled up in a ball, the young girl closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths. Heavy steps walked back into the room, a cold smack echoed as a wash rag landed against the wooden floors in front of her. "Clean up the frickin' blood while you're down there."

Without a verbal or even physical response, the shaking girl uncurled and crawled over to the rag, pressing it against the floor where the pile of blood was, wiping it and putting as much pressure on it as her small body could afford. The light was turned off, the heavy steps receded, and a door up the stairs slammed shut. Nonetheless, the young girl continued to put pressure on the stains to the wooden floor, clumsily standing and walking to the large kitchen to get napkins. Her labor was hard born as she moved across the room to the door and back again to double check for any spots. When she stood, her knees were sore from skidding on the ground, and her weight was almost too much. She stumbled as she went to put things away, barely able to climb the stairs and walk back to her room the way she had come. Though much too small for her, a crib sat in the corner of the room, where she took a blanket from it, and the small pillow, laying it on the ground and closing her own eyes.

Only to be awakened a few hours later with yelling once more.

"Wake the hell up you lazy bitch. You've got chores and shit to do."

Her eyes opened as another kick was delivered to her stomach, and she sat up and forward, eyes widening for a few seconds before she cringed as the breath was knocked out of her.

The man's features with the sun shining through the window were too different from her own, where his eyes consuming black, hers were a stunning emerald. Where his hair was well slipped back and he wore dress robes, her hair was frizzy knot riddled and all over the place and she wore rags practically made from the pillowcases. When his face was spotless, hers was dark and covered with dirt.

"Get to work. I'll be back in an hour and I expect my bed made and food on the table." He watched her carefully as she bowed her body in response. Once satisfied, he walked out of the room and out of the house.

He never came back.

Food sat delicately on the table for the rest of the day, the young girl restraining herself from even taking a bite. She had to have permission. When the moon was up midway through the sky, she walked around the house, the older parts just barely creeping under her bare feet. When she was sure the house was empty, she made her way back to the kitchen, looking at the food she had made for breakfast and putting it over the small fire she had fed for the second half of the day. When it was warm once more, she put a cover over it and left it on the table. Curling back up with her stomach aching from the bruises left and rumbling from hunger and attempting to sleep. The night creped on with no sound, and the young girl closed her eyes.

When she opened them once more, the sun had risen, and the house was quiet. Everything in the kitchen was as she had left it. The bedroom the same, not a sheet out of place. It wasn't the first time she had been left alone in her 6 years. But the pure size of the house was too much for her. She started her work once more in the kitchen, discarding the food into the garbage and beginning another meal from scratch.

Yet, much like the day before. It sat on the table the next morning when she woke up with her stomach cramping from hunger.

By the third day, she had to eat what was still left on the table, no matter how cold it was, and even when she had finished, she knew that the moment the man got home she would be punished. Maybe it was lucky that, even after six days, he never appeared. The young girl had taken to eating the meal the next morning, her small body used to the little amount of food it was given and using the energy to continue to clean the house as she was commanded to every day previous.

For the first time ever though, when she reached for something to make for the 13th day's breakfast, nothing was edible. The labels were all expired, and she knew enough to not make anything from them, putting them in the garbage. By the 23rd day, she couldn't manage to make soup, and the food supplies had been diminished. The front door stayed closed, the house quiet. When she reached the fourth day without food, her body had become so weak that it was difficult for her to even pick some things up or to rearrange the stacks of books in the small library of the house. Her mind screamed protest to most of what she did, and she wasn't sure if the man would ever come back. She'd never stepped outside the front door. Another day passed before her small blanket, not large enough to even cover her body was gripped in her hand, and the front door was unlocked. The sun shone down as it did every day through the windows, the lawn slightly growing a bit longer than usual and the foreboding gate down the drive at the front stayed dark. Lightly, wearing all that she had, the brown-haired girl padded down to the gate and fiddled with the lock, eventually getting it to open.

The mansion she had never left sat behind her, and she made her way down the street, following the sidewalk, something she had only briefly read of. She walked well into the night, before coming to a stop as she saw a small row of buildings. Making her way into the darkness beside a building, she lay and sleep, covering herself as best she could, wrapping her small feet swollen and dirty into her sheet-dress to keep them warm.


	3. A Friendly Face

**Three months later**

Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had been given the blessing of pure free time before the next year of school started at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had about a month until the beginning of the new term, and as usual, he strolled through Diagon Ally watching people and saying hello to those who ran up to speak to him. The light laughs that rang through the crowd were alluring, brightening his day with the weather. Even so, his destination was in the darker parts of the area, even when he had to glance down at his list he frowned. The potions professor had returned to his dreary childhood home, where he hated to leave once the summer had begun. He had requested a list of the darker items that couldn't be found in the open market of the light Diagon Ally and he was set to return to the castle by the end of the week. Dumbledore understood the darker parts may not allow the potions professor in, the darkness of what he had done, and his ability to avoid persecution was a well-hated fact among the normal crowds of the area.

As he headed down the steps and into the 'slums' known as Knockturn ally, he put his eye on his destination for finding a purchase. It took a total of a half an hour of shopping until all the materials he could check off were found. His relief couldn't be suppressed as he walked toward the entrance, he had come in. But, for some reason, he felt a pull toward a different direction, causing him to pause and frowned. A dark-haired young girl sat just far enough in an ally to not be noticed by many, but just close enough to the point where she could see everyone else.

She sat, obviously awake, her glazed over eyes staring forward but looking at nothing. It was an unusual place for a young girl, or a child, in general, to be without their parents. The look on her face was so much unlike any child he had seen, even just looking into the ground it was lost. "If you're looking at the kid, no one knows who the 'ell she is." A man, with a top hat walked up, following Dumbledore's gaze. "Show'd up a few weeks back. Took us a while to figure out she was taking food. Lil thief." The man laughed, and Dumbledore watched as she didn't move. "Most the stores told 'er that if she stepped into them again, she'd be arrested: only took one nicely shot curse. She started begging." The man laughed again, and the elder felt his stomach tighten. Dumbledore wasn't sure why the man had chosen to talk to him. Perhaps to warn him or because he could see the look on Albus's face.

The young girl looked too familiar to him, a younger version of another he had once known.

"Watch your wallet. Two, maybe three days back she just stopped. She sat there: She's always there, hasn't left that area." With a chuckle, he started to walk off. "Guess we're just waiting for her to leave. She's gotta figure she ain't gettin anything from round here: She ain't know nothing about being a whore, so she ain't gonna get no more money." Even as he walked away chuckling with what seemed to be drunken humor, Dumbledore felt his own moral dilemma fall into place.

Shrinking everything he had bought into his bag, he placed it into his satchel and walked across the street to the ally where the young girl sat. Her eyes didn't move from their spot as he got closer until he had knelt to get a closer view of her.

She was curled into a fetal position with her head on her knees, hardly anything covered her body apart from what looked to be a torn up and used men's jacket and a few pieces of sheet. Signs of abuse read themselves across her pale skin, her cheekbones extremely defined and body slightly quaking from the cool of the shade. She had dark bags surrounding her eyes and her feet were shoeless and visibly torn and crusted over from walking without cover. Her hair was much more of a mess than it looked to be from afar. It seemed to need a comb through it, and to be cut, knots made it run wild and stick up. In the end, she looked more animalistic than a human child. Up close, her green eyes shone grey, a look of loss he had only seen on fully grown adults. One that he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Hello there?" The old man bent down to her height, getting her attention by waving the ground she stared at. Her eyes closed for a second in a prolonged blink before looking up and into his own. As if she were an empath, he could feel despair and loss in her eyes, but there was not so much fear as there was indifference. She stared at him for a few seconds before blinking again, waiting. "My name is Albus. What's your name?" He waited for a few seconds as she continued to blankly stare at him, and when she didn't respond he let out a small breath. "Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" Letting his voice travel across as friendly to the young girl he watched as her eyes widened for a moment before narrowing, almost glaring at him, and he knew she could understand every word he was saying. But still, aside from the movement of her eyes, she didn't uncurl or so much as move. "Here, You and I can go and get something." When he offered a hand, her eyes shifted back and forth between his face and his offering. Untrusting. For one so young, the scorn she had for people, just seen through her eyes was nearly unbearable for him. All her pain slipped through with her glare. Her feelings of the world were loud as she stared at him. Even so, as his pain grew, his want to help her did as well. "I promise, I can get you taken care of. Food, water, you can take a bath, and get new clothes." Her eyes only narrowed more. "Pinky Promise." He held out his smallest finger and saw her eyes grow with curiosity.

Her small and boney hand reached out to his with her own pinky out, and he squeezed it slightly, moving to help her stand. The jacket slipped on her shoulder to show her small and nearly bear body, scratches and scars from her neck to her feet and dark blue and purple bruises reached around her the dark colors in shapes of hands. It was painfully obvious what she had been through her time on the streets. But her eyes had a sad light that said she would do almost anything for survival. She went to take a step closer to the headmaster before her leg gave out, causing him to have to hold her under both of her arms to keep her from collapsing.

Her eyes watered up, her pain showing as she tried to get her feet under her one more.

Dumbledore's mind was set then. He knew what he was going to do. Taking a step closer, he lifted her up by her arms and set her against his hip. She trembled at the quick movement. He swept down slightly to grab the Jacket to cover her up a little more. Her eyes stayed widened as she looked at him, and he turned to her so he could look her in the eyes as well. "I'm going to apparate: To my home okay? We'll get you warm and safe. But it will feel weird." The young girl took a few seconds before her dirty face and hair moved up and down in conformation. She seemed to understand what he was telling her. Adjusting her and thinking very carefully, he took them straight to the front gates of the school, both opening the moment he got close enough to walk through them.

The girl leaned away for him for the first few steps, her eyes darted around with surprise at the new environment. But she didn't pull away or struggle completely. She wasn't sick and didn't seem dizzy like most people after their first apparition. Instead, she just looked. Her attention fell to the forest, and then to the gate closing by itself. Eventually, she let her small body relax, leaning toward him and allowing her small head to fall onto his shoulder. The look in her eyes even as she stared toward the castle was tired. She looked exhausted. They walked up to the entrance and Dumbledore magically opened the large doors with the flick of his wand, the gust of the slightly cooler air inside was refreshing and clean. The only sound was the light tap of his legs against the hardwood floor, echoing as they climbed more stairs, eventually reaching the gargoyle to Dumbledore's office.

"Peppermint Paper," The older man said, stepping onto the stairs as they began to move. When the door opened, the short chatter in the room became silent between the pictures as they saw the young girl he held. Everyone seemed curious as he set her down in a reclining chair. The girl herself was watching the pictures with large eyes, curious as to why they had been speaking in the first place. She was unfamiliar with having so many watching her, a few even whispering to one another. None the less, when she was set down, the headmaster ran a hand through her dirty hair and glanced over at his table.

"Melina?" With a rather loud pop; the young girl jumped, and a house-elf entered the room. The small girl shrunk away and further into the chair. Dumbledore, ever so cautious of her reactions, along with the house elf's curiosity, calmly noted her hiding. "Could you ask Minerva to make her way here, tell her I'm sorry for disturbing her and her husband? Could you also get some food up here? Preferably easily chewable food, and a small verity with children's utensils?"

"Of course Headmaster" The squeaky voice of the elf grinned. "Melina is happy to help!" She said in the third person, causing the old man to smile and nod his head. With a second Pop, she had already disappeared.

Dumbledore walked over to the young girl, bending down so he could look her in the eyes. "I'm going to go and get you some clothes, and possibly run you a bath. Stick in here?" The young girl stared at him for a few seconds before nodding her head, watching as he stood back up to his normal height and walked swiftly through a door behind his desk. The headmaster made his way around the corner to the hidden entrance of his private quarters and to a trunk in his spare room, pushing a few books and things off the top, opening it lightly with a swish of his wand. After doing so, he reached in and grabbed a dress, shifting around until he could find one that wasn't too large, and even then, he used a charm to shrink it. Grabbing a pair of nightclothes, he moved the chest out a bit toward the center of the room. Making his way then down to the office.

The young girl had moved, but only slightly. She sat up on the chair with her attention turned toward his bookshelf, looking at some of the pictures sitting on it. The bulk of them were not overly personal pictures. Some of the Hogwarts staff over the years, one or two with him and students. The book collection though ranged from fairytales to defense against the dark arts books. She seemed young, but the way she looked at the books proved that she had at least a little bit of knowledge on how to read. Dumbledore stood in the doorway for a few seconds before he made a bit more noise walking into the room. Her head turned toward him immediately and she watched as he made his way over to her. Taking the dress he had in his hands, he lifted it up to her sitting body, checking the size before pushing it toward her. She picked it up and looked at it, and then, once more with wide eyes to him.

"Do you think you can put it on yourself? I can show you to a room further back?"

She nodded and he helped her to stand. When she walked, she stumbled a bit toward the beginning, but they walked slow enough for her to regain her footing. When they reached the door to the empty room, Dumbledore waved his wand about and transfigured a few books to a bed and set the pajamas on it. The young girl was already working off the scraps covering her. In doing so, she showed her skinny body. Almost every bone in her legs could be seen down to the crease, her stomach was no better; her ribs were practically out in the open and he could see the bruises with even more details. Even so, he had to give the girl some sort of privacy, and walked into the main room once more, finding food already set out, along with tea for two. The old headmaster couldn't help but be proud of the house elf's quick efforts in making food, but it wasn't too much of a surprise either, the summer was slow for them, and it would be until the last week of August when they began making sure the dorms were up to par for the incoming students.

As he poured the tea, there was a light knock on his door, and he set down the cup across from where he sat when he invited the younger teacher in.

She was dressed in a trench coat, and it was easy to tell she hadn't put much thought into what she was going to wear, she was still dressed casually. "Hello, Albus. Did you need me for something important? Because I just finished eating." One could tell her attention had already been drawn to the food that sat on the table.

"Yes actually, I needed a bit of help with-. " He stopped as he looked toward the entrance to the office, the young girl hid slightly peaking around the corner of the door looking at the professor. In her hand, she held the laces to the back of the dress that she couldn't reach, but it seemed to fall out of her mind with the entrance of a new person. "Come here, child." He motioned the young girl forward, and she stared at him before quietly making her way toward him. He leaned down and took the laces from her hands, tying them in a small bow after lacing the last of them, and then brushing off the rest of her dress. When he finished, he set her down in the chair he had set in front of the food and watched as she scanned it.

"A child?" Minerva stared at him, and then at the young girl once more.

"Yes. I found her rather lonely in Knockturn Ally and thought it best to not leave her there."

"And you needed me to?"

"I don't think it'd be very comfortable for her if I were to help bath her tonight before I put her to bed." He turned his attention back to her wide eyes and handed her a fork from the table. "You can go ahead. Slowly though."

They watched as she pulled the watermelon closer to her, leaning forward and carefully taking a small bite. After tasting it, she began to take piece by piece and carefully chewed it.

"What is her name?" Minerva took a few steps closer, the girl pausing when she ate to assess her. Once more resembling an animal of some type or another. The professor sat down in the chair beside her and looked to Dumbledore.

"Don't know. She hasn't said a word, but I do believe she knows what she's being told. She responds properly. Isn't that so?"

The young girl paused and looked at him, then back to the woman before slowly nodding her head looking at the small bowl of soup beside McGonagall. The older woman watched where her eyes were, and then pointed to the soup, watching as she nodded her head again. Carefully, she picked it up and set it in front of the girl. The steam proved how warm it was, and she watched as the girl examined it with her spoon. Stirring it slowly. Without much time, the steam began to stop- much faster than natural. She looked up to Dumbledore, who also was watching the soup, a small smile spreading across his face.

"How old are you sweetheart?" Minerva asked the girl after she took a bite of her magically cooled soup. There was a pause before she lifted seven fingers in response. With a small smile, the professor urged a bit more. "Do you have a name too?" There was a pause before the girl looked down at her food and shook her head. "You don't have a name?" She shook her head again. The elder woman sighed, glancing at the headmaster with a small frown, "Do you have parents?" The response was silence. When the witch raised herself to her feet once more, she walked closer to stand beside Dumbledore.

"What do you plan to do with her once she's clean and attended to?"

"I will decide come morning." They stood and watched the young girl as she ate her food. She ate slowly and occasionally stopped to glance at them, checking to make sure it was acceptable for her to continue eating. The dark-haired professor walked a little closer to her and kneeled by where she sat, slowly taking her hand and watching the young one flinch away. She paused until the girl looked to her again and then wiped her hair away from her face.

"She needs medical attention. Those bruises on her collarbone could be the sign of something worse than you'd expect. She's abnormally small."

As if on cue the young girl set down her fork on the napkin beside her and then moved to stand up. Clumsily she steadied herself before putting whatever was left in a small pile onto the plate. Her hands gently lifted it, shocking the teacher and the headmaster as she then promptly walked three steps toward them before tripping. The two adults were quick to act, ready for it. Minerva flipped her wand toward the silverware and Dumbledore stopped the child's downward spiral, moving swiftly to lift her up and set her on her feet, glancing at the floating leftover and dirty plates.

"What were you doing?" The woman sighed, relieved she made it through the minor heart attack. She took a step forward toward the girl and Dumbledore only to stop when the young one flinched away from her and began to shake in silent fear, eyes tightly shut and waiting for some type of violent punishment.

Maybe that was when she worked her way into the woman's heart.

"Shh, hey. It's okay, we're not angry." Dumbledore let one of his hands rest on her arm, barely touching her as she opened a single eye to look at them both. "Why were you carrying the plates?"

For the first time, she spoke to him. But it wasn't verbally. By reaching out and pressing her hand to his own, her extremely small voice echoed quietly in the depths of his mind. _'Dishes to be done'_, it was such a distant message that he stared at her blankly for a second, half in shock. For a child to be able to project their ideas into someone like his head, no matter how weak the connection is... it was brilliant. Even some adult Wizards and Witches couldn't manage to do much with a verbal spell, much less without one. Yet, the idea that she thought it her duty to do the dishes proved that she had not grown in an environment where her own opinions had been taken into consideration, much less her safety and happiness. She was too mentally strong to be a normal child. Whatever childhood she had been given had obviously been ripped away rather violently.

"The dishes?" Dumbledore asked aloud, trying not to be phased and leaning down a bit so that he was eye level with her. Very slightly, as though unsure, she nodded her head. He let out a small but light chuckle, shaking his head. "You don't have to do them here. Okay? We will work. You can rest." She nodded her head once more.

"Albus?"

"She can project."

"Project?"

"Nonverbally."

"That's impossible."

"Just uncommon. Actually, I've never seen someone so young do it."

"Her flinching away—It's"

"She seems to understand everything we say." Gently cutting off the transfiguration professor from saying more, Dumbledore knelt to his smaller guest's level and put a hand against her cheek. Getting a general glance into her head. "She's quick and intelligent—much more intelligent than other kids her age. Her mind is faster than most adults. Did you know you are a brilliant child?" He asked her, smiling when she shook her head. "You are fantastic, darling. Now then. Minerva?"

The witch waved her wand, so the plates floated their way back on to the table and nodded her head.

"I think this child is in deep need of a bath, there is one ready in the added-on bathroom of the guest room. Could you please?"

"Of course." Minerva walked closer to the two, letting her arm out for the young girl. "You ready to get a little cleaned up sweetheart?"

Slowly, she let her arm out and took the lady's hand, looking up to Dumbledore who nodded to her in response. The two walked out of the room at a rather slow pace and toward the bathroom. Dumbledore walked over to his desk and stared at the lamp before turning to the window and checking the time. Noting that it was beginning to get late, he opened it for Fawks to fly in and perch himself, shaking his head and brushing his feathers with his beak.

"We have guests," He told the bird, not actually caring if it could understand him or not.

In the bathroom, Minerva slowly helped the young girl out of her dress and had to hold back a gasp, and soon a sob at the dry blood and scars that caked her body. The dirt that had been on her dress from slipping it over her head was doubled on her body, and her skin looked dark. she was starved, the curves of nearly every crevice of all 6 pairs of ribs could be seen.

The woman of the two put her fingers into the tub, checking the slowly cooling temperature before lifting the girl up and holding her above the water. Small green orbs stared at her wide-eyed and naked as she looked between the water and the woman. She was slowly lowered in- the only sound she made though was a whimper. Her eyes were closed tightly even when she was standing in the water on her own. Waiting for something even more painful.

"Sweetheart, It's okay. You can sit down in the water, it's safe." The girl slowly reacted with her eyes still tightly shut as she felt her way until she was sitting. The water and bubbles reached up to her shoulders and the water already turning a dark brown with dirt. The girl let out a second whimper.

Minerva was still so unsure on how to deal with the girl's fear of water or the pain the water was causing, but to do her best, she slipped off her own shirt, leaving her camisole on, and rolled her pants up high, slipping out of socks and shoes. Curious, but still mute, the younger's eyes watched her every move, even when she put her legs into the water and got her arms wet. The girl lifted a hand and touched some of the bubbles trying to flick them off when they stuck to her skin. The teacher couldn't help but cough a light laugh at the girl's scrunched face. Every motion she made though was slow, cautious. It was as if she was a rabbit cautious she might be hunted.

For another minute she sat and watched the girl make up her mind about the water. She shifted and would put her hands into it, and watch it drop off her own body. For a second she let her arm drop limply and make a rather small splash, jumping at the sound she made. She watched the ripples carefully as well when she shifted her legs or her body.

As a Transfiguration teacher, Minerva found the girl's surprise at sitting in the harmless water squeeze her heart. In her time as a teacher, she couldn't imagine a child that hadn't taken something as simple as a bath. To get her attention, the woman got her hand wet and lightly flicked it at the girl, who jumped when it hit her in the face. Her eyes turned to the hand that flicked it though. Then back up to the owner, bashful and surprised that she was still there. With one of the smallest of smiles, Minerva spoke quietly. "We've got to get you washed up. Can you turn around, so your back is facing me?" Without a response, the girl did as she was told. Minerva took a handful of water and ran it over the girl's shoulders, watching as they tensed, but not stopping. She transfigured one of the small bottles into a cup, filling it with water. "Close your eyes child." She said softly, before pouring the water over her head.

The hair split easily between the elder woman's fingers as she scrubbed into it, and she realized with a shock that the girl's hair was a light shade of brown rather than the muddy oily black that it appeared to be. Twice she re-cleansed the water, and still, dark colors mucked the clearing water. The girl had been efficient in not moving around and doing what she was told, with her finger she played with the bubbles and the water. Minerva had her scrub her feet and legs with a soft soapy cloth that also kept her occupied. The paleness of her skin was enough to rival a person who had spent most of their time inside, almost a blinding white when dirt was cleared. Yet bruises and scars though took up most of her body. From head to toe in varying degrees, there was hardly a spot not lightly marred in some way or another. Most had healed to a certain point, but even as they were washing one wound would open. When they did, the girl would tense, sometimes Minerva could hear a soft hiss leave her lips. Away from that, she was near silent.

When they finished after about forty minutes, Minerva had the girl stand up to do a final rinse. She did as told and began to shake at the cold air, suddenly looking at the woman with more and more fear in her eyes. "You're okay. I've got a towel here," taking the towel off the floor the woman wrapped it around the girl's body. Small lanky fingers wrapped around the edges and held it to her. When Minerva was able to stand up after swinging her legs from the tub she let her pants fall and lifted the girl out. A solid red covered much of her body from scrubbing and scabbed over scars, her feet by far some of the worst off regarding marring, they still looked a bit brown around her soles.

Lifting the girl into her arms, still covered with a towel, Minerva walked out toward the study. Dumbledore stood up when he heard them, his glasses on and looking the girl over with a small smile. He took a step toward them and let his hand touch her hair, even when she shrunk away from him. "It's such a light color."

"I think it's about time to put her into some other clothes and let her sleep." Dumbledore nodded in agreement and stood, walking and levitating his chest into the makeshift room he gave her. Minerva followed him in and set the young girl onto the bed. Looking into the chest, she grabbed another sleep shirt and helped the girl put it on. The girl's attention focused on the chest, and then on the dress itself. She played with the soft fabric below her fingers and stroked the edge of the bed, pressing down on the mattress and watching as it conformed around her hand. When she finished, Minerva glanced over to the headmaster as he still sat looking at some of the things in the chest.

"Dumbledore?"

"Oh yes, of course. I have this-" he lifted up a stuffed cat, "to keep her company it seems."

The little girl's eyes widened at the stuffed animal and she looked between them. It almost seemed like the excitement the way she gripped the edge of her dress and twisted it in her fingers. When Dumbledore walked over and sat beside her with it, he lifted it for her to see. She stared into the black buttoned eyes of the stuffed animal and touched it's paw as if it were about to break. Then she looked up to Minerva and reached her hand out. The elder woman lifted her hand for the girl to take, only to hear words in her head.

_For me?_

The woman, in shock, just nodded her head, but the girl's grip tightened a little more.

_Thank you._

"Y-Your welcome."

Once more she reached out to Dumbledore who let her make contact. _Thank you_. Her voice echoed quietly as he gave it to her. She sat with it in her lap wide-eyed and let its paw lift and drop. With her teeth biting her lip lightly she squeezed it and experimented with what its ears could do and flipping its tail back and forth in amazement. The two adults let small smiles cross their faces and an ever-present tightness settled into their chests.

"Well then, Love, it's bedtime. So we can get you all tucked in." The girl nodded her head and held the cat to her chest, waiting. Dumbledore lifted her up and slid her to the top of the bed, wandlessly pushing the covers back as Minerva stood as well. He pulled the covers up to the girl's chin watching as her eyes followed his every move. Tucking the covers lightly into the mattress, he ran a soft hand through her hair. "When you wake up, you can come out. I'll probably be in the office- where you ate."

The girl innocently nodded her head.

"If you need anything in the middle of the night. No matter what, my room is next door. Okay?"

She nodded her head again, reaching her little hand out from the covers and touching his hand once more. _Thank You_. She let the corners of her lips shift up like his were, and he gave a light laugh. Leaning down and giving a light kiss on her forehead both he and Minerva walked out of the room. A single candle was lit on the chest, the light of it slowly lulled the 7-year-old into a dream on a cloud.

The adults, after leaving the door cracked made their way to the main office, and Minerva sat down on the chair across from Dumbledore. "While I'm not surprised by her muteness, the abuse she's suffered is extensive. That child shouldn't be able to speak at all, much less mentally."

"It seems like she's practically been trained not to speak out loud either."

"She hissed and whimpered when I was bathing her. I could only imagine the pain she felt. Some of her wounds were open and bleeding."

"Most orphans from the war had caring parents they lost. She may have been abandoned. Everything seems foreign to her here. But she's safe at the least."

Minerva looked at the door, thinking. "Are you going to take her to the Ministry? She needs medical attention, and she needs to be given a home."

"I haven't decided yet." Dumbledore sighed, taking a sip of the tea on his desk. "My largest fear is her being put into a system that cannot adequately assimilate to her needs. She's cautious, shy, and without a voice, she cannot defend herself."

"You said you found her in Knockturn Ally. She could be the daughter of a..." the words trailed off in fear of offense.

"A death eater?"

"Exactly. Who knows what mental illness could be passed on? The necessity in keeping a family pureblood amongst some of those monsters is unnerving."

Dumbledore considered the odds as well, huffing once more. "All the more reason for her to be held in capable hands."

The tone in his voice seemed to change, as did the light in his eyes. Minerva could see the idea planting itself in his head from a mile away. "No." She came up with the optimal response. "You cannot adopt her," She pressed "Albus, she's a child, and just having another death eater in the castle is-"

"Severus will not cause her harm."

"He makes first years cry!" the Transfiguration teacher coughed out. "Every year the children have this innate fear of him. He is dangerous. This school is often dangerous. Having a 7-year-old running around, unattended to-" She was cut off.

"Severus is very strict in his teachings, yes, but those are students. His past has little to nothing to do with the man he has yet to become. In this castle, she would not be unattended to. We have a staff of over twenty, house-elves, and I'm sure, at last resort, there's a seventh-year student or two that would be more than willing to help. We could give her education and accommodate her needs."

"What about housing? You-"

"She would stay with me of course,"

"And her primary education?"

"I would teach her, I'm sure Poppy would love someone to teach as well."

"You travel as well, as a Headmaster and as Chief Warlock of Wizengamont. What would you do with her while you leave? When you go across the country or travel to the Americas?"

"Not only do you forget that we have friends all around the wizarding world, but I could often take her with me. She's intelligent enough to understand things normal children her age would never be able to comprehend. She hosts some type of manners and responsibilities that are shocking. The way she tried to do the dishes is an estimate of her mental age."

"And more likely, child abuse. Dumbledore-"

"I will look into other options. But," he paused, "she might be just what this castle needs."

The teacher closed her eyes and nodded her head eventually, standing up once more. "I must head home. Please, send for me tomorrow when you've figured these things out. That child just needs a good place."

Quietly, the Teacher made her way out of the room, leaving Dumbledore to his own thoughts, and sporting a headache. he slipped off his glasses and set them on his desk, wiping his eyes with his fingers. Taking the two letters he wrote to the Ministry, he whistled for an owl out his window, tying the letters and letting the animal know where it was to go that evening. He watched it safely fly out of his sight before shutting up his office. Fawks was already asleep, his head buried in the ruffles of his wing.

The headmaster, on his way to his own bedroom, stopped at the doorway to the nameless girl's room, watching her curled up form and soft facial features. Her small bony hands gripped to the stuffed cat like a lifeline, but she seemed calm. Her hair sprawled across the bed, some falling over her eyes and he was brought back to an image of his own younger sister before her death. With a small, heartbroken smile, the old man closed his eyes and walked to the room next door, leaving the door cracked in case he was needed. Making his way to his bed he lay on his side deep in thought until the darkness of his room, and his mind overtook him.

* * *

**A/N: Finally! A long chapter!**

**Part I of this Fanfiction is mostly foundation, and it'll take a while for us to get into it as we follow the characters on their journey forward, but trust me when I say- we'll get there. For more updates, don't forget to review! This Story can also be found on Fanfiction . net **


	4. The Ministry of Education and Youth Magic

**Warning: Mentions of Child Abuse**

The next morning, despite the headmaster's early tendencies, the young girl woke before him, a result of living on the streets. Silently, as she always was, she gripped the cat to her chest and crawled to the end of the bed. A hand ran through her own hair as she slid down the bed and asked herself what she was doing. Her bare feet padded against the hardwood floors and out into the main room. The lights were still off, the sun hours from rising. Making herself as small as she could, she curiously made her way around the room, looking at the different statues and pictures. The pictures were active, and when they realized she was watching them, all the headmasters at Hogwarts gave her smiles and hellos. One or two of them were given grudgingly, but collectively, but after greeting her, they spoke as though she wasn't there to one another.

She eventually moved herself to the feathery perch of Fawks. Eyes narrowing closely at the bird, she tried to make out if it was breathing or not. When she was least expecting it, the phoenix let its whole body move. The girl shot back, landing on her behind and staring at the bird wide-eyed. Like she was, it was also staring back, looking at her with its dark eyes, a sense of intelligence much like her own behind them. It hopped from its spot toward her, and she scooted back against the desk, cowering away from the moving creature. Compared to her it was massive.

It paused, noting that she was scared of it, and spoofed up its feathers, scratching them before bending over and making it's way to her again. The girl, in response, let her hand out toward it. Like one would do with a puppy. The bird, rather than sniffing it, ducked under the hand and let it rest on its feathers. With a slowly comprehending mind, the girl let her hand run down its feathers and watched it in wonder as it got closer to her. When it was close enough, it flapped its wings and landed on her curled knees, pecking her kindly on the top of the head. She sat ridged until the bird adjusted itself on her shoulder.

After at least 10 minutes of sitting still, the child's shoulders relaxed, and she shifted. The bird didn't move from its spot on her shoulder, but it did grip slightly tighter as she lifted herself to her feet. Slightly unbalanced with the extra weight, she walked toward the books and continued to browse the collection with the bird on her shoulder.

That's what Dumbledore walked in to. The man was not expecting the girl to be missing from her bed when he woke up the next morning at 5am. He had calmly taken a few moments to take a breath before making his way out to the office space. There, with her back turned to him was the small human being sitting criss-cross on the floor looking at one of the books he had on his bookshelf. On her left, next to her head his loyal companion, and one of the few existing Phoenixes and on her right, hanging off her arm was the stuffed cat he had given her the previous night. Her body shifted when he walked into the room, quickly moving her head to look at the page before setting the book back onto the bookshelf and turned around. She looked at the ground and gave a light curtsy.

Giving a small bow in response and watching her tilt her head in confusion, he motioned her to walk closer to him. When she was only a few steps he reached out and lifted her up by her arms once more, putting her against this hip, the bird never shifted from her shoulder. "Well. Good morning child. We should head to the kitchens for food this time around. You see? The sun is rising?" Moving to the window he shifted the curtains. Outside, the horizon line was clear with deep reds and oranges, the orb not yet bright enough to damage their eyes.

With a motion, Fawks flapped his wings and landed upon the edge of the window. The Headmaster smiled and opened the window, letting a soft breeze of cold air run through the room as the tall bird flew right out of the window and toward the light, a trail of what almost looked like fire trailing after it.

The girl let out a small gasp- almost inaudible to human ears as she watched the bird fly away and into the light. When Dumbledore adjusted once more though, she sunk her head into his shoulder and tightened her grip ever so slightly on both his robes and her stuffed friend. They made their way down the spiral stairs of the office, through the halls, down two staircases and to the bottom floor. After tickling a picture of a pear, the portrait swung open to reveal a rather calm kitchen full of small pale creatures with huge ears and long noses.

Just like the previous night, minus the poof-ing into the room, a small female was suddenly in front of the elder wizard and the child in his arms. "Hello, Melina. We came down to get some breakfast. Mind if we wonder about and pick out our own foods?"

"Of course Not! Melina will go and get plates and drinks. What drinks?"

"I'll take the normal tea. And- Sweetheart, What do you want to drink?" The young girl almost seemed to ponder the question for a short amount of time before she shrugged. As a response, the highly esteemed wizard smiled. "Let's try some juice." The elf bounced off and the two humans walked alongside the wall. When two plates appeared next to them, Dumbledore began to walk closer to the food. Every few seconds, he would put something onto his, slightly larger plate. Then he would turn to the small one in his arms and ask: "Do you like ...(insert food of choice here)" More often than not, the young girls eyes would widen and she would observe whatever was laid out in front of her curiously, before nodding her head quickly or shaking it abashedly.

Slowly they made their way through the dishes, the food stacking up to a reasonable level before the two made their way to a small set table with two seats. The girl was set down in the one with taller legs while the head of the school sat across from her. Each plate lowered gently onto the table before the respective owners. With large, innocent eyes, the young girl stared at the pure amount of food before her. Tiny, malnourished hands reached up and touched the sticky pancake syrup. She let it lightly touch her tongue before she sat back and stared at the old man.

He observed every move she made with a curious eye of his own, watching and wondering and guessing her many different reactions. When she stopped and just stared at him, he was, once again, floored as to what he should do. Nonetheless, he reached down and took a bite of one of his strawberries. The light shade of brown in the girl's hair almost reflected the right when she tilted her head.

"You do not have to wait for me. Go ahead." A light flourish of his hand toward her plate and she sat up even more. her shoulders squared and the intellect behind her eyes twinkled as she looked down at her choices. The first thing she picked up with her skinny fingers was a banana, pealing with the utmost amount of care she tore only the top off and set the rest of the item down, munching on it and letting her eyes skirt back to her savior. Again, he took another bite.

Much of their meal went in that fashion. She was very slow when it came to her meal, and she just barely finished it all off, constantly expecting the Headmaster to condemn something she did. Her eyes would flip toward him for permission before she took something off her own plate, and when he got to his main dish, she sat and mimicked the way he ate it and wiped his face with the napkin set out beside them.

"Today will be a busy day I think, young one. We'll go back upstairs, find you some day-clothes. Then I think the plan is to check-in at the ministry. Maybe we'll find you some parents." With a small smile, the girl bit her lip and nodded her head.

They finished, and Dumbledore helped her down from the chair and held her hand, leading her back out of the kitchen and thanking a few of the many house-elves shifting around at work. The walk back up took much longer, most likely because the bright-eyed young-un spend half of her time tripping up the stairs and finding her footing, and the other half of her time looking around at the walls and the photos. When the Bloody Baron appeared before the two, the smaller latched herself onto the robes of the headmaster. The ghost's translucent quality, and the blood that stuck onto his robes, also translucent, stunned the child to a near shaking fear.

"Dumbledore its a rumor that there is a child roaming about that- oh! Hello there." The ghost moved closer to the girl, causing her to duck her head in the childlike manner Dumbledore hadn't truly seen. She continued to bury herself into the old man's robes and attach herself closer to the old man, he could feel slight tremors in her body.

"Yes Baron, though she seems to be a bit shy regarding attention. It would do us best if you advised the other ghosts to refrain from bothering either of us for the next few days if she returns with me after our trip to the Ministry of Magic. Rather the introductions should be slow between you all."

"Oh! of course. She's but a wee thing."

"Thank you. of course. Now. Sweetheart, Up we go." the headmaster turned back to the girl and pulled her up and into his arms once more. It was swift heading to the griffin statue and up the stairs, right back to the room she had slept in. Her hands lost their tight hold on the older man and she looked around without a second thought for the ghost. Baron had gone only minutes after he had finished speaking, but the young girl seemed to hide away even longer.

Plopping her down on the bed, the older man moved over to the chest and pulled out a light pink dress and shifted to help the young girl change.

It was quick work moving around and checking the marks of abuse across the small one's back, the red marks that stained the side she couldn't see herself were only slightly irritated. She sat very still as he finished with the strings and moved a comb through her hair, the soft locks hardly stopping the clean brush through he gave them. With a light hand, the old man braided the hair that ran in front of her face back into a petite halo.

When he shifted the child around to look at her eyes slowly opened to stare back to him. Her limber fingers reached up to touch the braid before she smiled at him, a rather large and awkward smile, attempting to show her teeth much like he did when he smiled to her. The old man couldn't help but chuckle and pat the top of her head with a strong fill of love in the depths of his chest.

"Well, let me grab my robe, and maybe a cloak for you and then we'll head off. It'd be best to floo."

And so they did. The entrance in one of the gateways to the ministry was bright, the building itself seemed rather wild, people rushing to where they needed to be. It was a surprise when, at the sight of the white-haired wizard holding an unknown child in his arms, they paused. Her arms wrapped around the man's shoulders gripped tightly to his robes. Wildly alert and looking around the long halls of the building the dark shade of her eyes tried to take everything in. The headmaster, on the other hand, was very calm with the girl in his arms. When people paused, he greeted them all kindly and with small grins. The man seemed to, once again, know nearly everyone.

The kind but curious smiles drifted to her constantly as they walked. The young girl wasn't used to having people look at her the way they seemed to be doing in the Ministry. For a distraction, she looked to the walls, the intricate bricks with words and the golden statues in the center of the fountain. There was a man, as they walked into the larger portion off to the side selling newspapers, and paper airplanes flew passed the two, weaving and diving in and out of people, into the lifts and out of lifts. A large white poster fell from the ceiling with the face of the current minister of magic looking on.

Dumbledore made his way to the front desk, procuring two visitor passes, clipping one to the girl's dress and patting her softly on the back as he adjusted and put a pass on himself. With curt directions from the woman sitting in front of them, who was rather eager to help, they walked toward a Lift at the end of the main hall, stepping in when the doors opened. Already, two men stood in the back, their hands held tightly to the hanging leather handles on the ceiling.

Beside the old wizard another witch and wizard stepped in, the witch looked up to the girl and gave a small smile, waving her hand in a hello. The young one stared at her from head to toe, looking at the classic wizard robes she wore. The woman's hair was undone behind her into a bun, and she had a scarf wrapped and tied in the front. Gripping on to the Headmaster, she glanced at him to see his eyes on her, and then back to the lady.

"Hello, Matilda. How are you?" The smiling deeper tones of the one holding her caused the girl to jump, not expecting the silence to be broken.

"Good, Professor Dumbledore- who is this?"

"This young one, at the moment is nameless. We're headed to the Department of Education and Youth Magic to get her sorted somewhere." With a very clean driven response, the woman gave exact directions to their destination and she smiled toward the girl who hid her face when she realized that more people had begun to stare at them. Without much further ado the elevator, that jerked when it moved in nearly every single direction before they reached their own shifted open and allowed them to move through a wide archway. The words were not in a language that the young one could not yet understand.

Through about four more doorways and a moving staircase, the two found their selves in a rather loud room filled with parents and children sitting on seats, siblings holding each other's hands and attention on a calling list. One name re-wrote itself into another and a pair stood, walking toward one of the doors. The new surroundings once again distracted the brunette, and she wasn't aware of her carrier speaking until they stopped.

The woman at the desk had a somber tone as she spoke, her eyes looked weary and tired as she looked between the old man and young girl, nodding her head and writing something down on a piece of paper. Green eyes couldn't read the scrawled handwriting.

When her mind eventually filtered out all the outside sounds and nonsense, and her focus returned, she was able to hear the tail end of the conversation. "If Melo is free then I'll speak to her."

"Of course. I'll send this-" She wrote something on a separate piece of paper and then tapped it with her wand. It floated off toward one of the doors, slipping under it just as two children began to cry across the room. The young girls, one of whom couldn't be much older than the girl in Dumbledore's arms clutched each other as a man spoke to them calmly. Their distress making the room tenser, the air felt heavier. The Headmaster could feel the young one's hands fisting tighter, her knuckles turning to a paler white as she considered that she may be the next one to receive such distress.

Dumbledore shifted the light-haired girl up a bit, causing her to once more shift her eyes to something different, this time, the approaching woman. She glanced around them at first and then sighed. Like many of the others in the department, she looked tired. Her shoulders were slightly slumped, and her hair was disheveled from her hand shifting through it every few minutes. Yet when she saw the Headmaster her eyes lightened… but only slightly. "Headmaster. Why don't you follow me?"

Back through the door that the note had flown under was a rather small office, it was just larger than the bedroom the girl had slept in, with a single desk and a few photos on the wall. Moving photos of course. The woman walked around to the head of the desk, and Dumbledore and his current ward sat down in the larger, softer of the two chairs. He set the young girl beside him, where there was plenty of room for her small body to sit, still brushing up against him.

"There are a lot of children here today." He mentioned, getting the conversation started.

"It's been that way for months now. People are finding children looking for parents-but usually they're... gone. This war had torn apart so many families."

"Where are the kids going?"

"Usually to their closest relatives. If not we have to set them up in muggle foster homes around the country, its a rough process. We can't always put a family together."

The older man sighed, glancing down once more at the young girl beside him. "I found this darling child in Knockturn ally."

With a tiny smile, the woman bent over her desk to try and make eye contact. "Well hello there. What's your name?"

It was not much of a surprise when the girl shifted toward the headmaster in order to cover herself from attention. The room stayed quiet for a few more moments as the two watched the girl's shy charisma. Without a response Roumi Melo, as her nameplate read, sat back in her seat. She took her wand and gave it a light wave in the girl's direction. Dumbledore noted the flinch his current ward had and the fact she closed her eyes waiting for the pain. Instead, the tip of the wand turned orange and then dark blue. The woman sighed. "It looks like she doesn't have any living personal connections. I can personally arrange an all-girls home with her."

"While she remains nameless to even I, She is rather intelligent and a bit overly aware of her magical talents. Are there any Magical families that are prepared to handle something like that?"

Hand through hair, the woman looked at one of the photos to her left. "We actually don't have any foster homes specifically for Magical children, all of them are being admitted into the British or Scottish governmental systems. It's rather hard to find stability though, she'll have to learn how to control her abilities or hide them. Not all muggles are very accommodating to any special abilities."

"She'd be living with a group of other girls though?"

"Yes. Probably a group of twelve or fourteen muggle girls of varying ages."

Shifting attention, the headmaster looked down to the one still gripping to him. Her eyes had downcast once more, her shoulders slumped and her hair had fallen in front of her face. While her hands still were latched to his robes, they had loosened considerably- telling the headmaster that she understood every word being spoken. "From what I've seen, she has a history of domestic abuse, as well as street abuse that has resulted in her muteness."

Again, the woman seemed to pause in her thoughts. "It'll be harder to integrate her: once in the system sometimes the kids are moved around. Magical kids more than anything- the psychological issues with orphans of You-Know-Who's followers are severe after they've been left alone. But we cannot sit on one child for too long." Without considering the young girl could understand her, she was blunt. "Dumbledore: Her prospects aren't going to be very good for the next few years, but after she turns eleven things may start looking up. Its what's happening with most of the children- we've already had to track down five runaways."

Once more, the girl's hands slackened on the robes, finding their way to the bottom of her dress and fisting it and the stuffed animal instead. The rejection was blatant in her body language. The seeping depression following her fumbling fingers. As it had when he first found her, his heart ached for her hardships, for the misery that she was forced through at the hands of a war she had no part in. At the hands of men and women, she had met on the streets and been forced to starve.

Who's to say that she would never find a place amongst her peers. She was so inherently intelligent but broken in so many ways.

The decision, really, it was made before they even arrived. It was made the moment she gripped the stuffed animal, or the moment she took a bite out of the food he had set out before her. Maybe it was the moment her small finger had wrapped around his own or the moment he saw that her eyes were tens of years older than her body. Dumbledore couldn't point out the moment he was taken with her so much that he was willing to say his following words. "Could you give us the papers if I wanted to adopt her as my own?"

Reactions between both the girl and the woman behind the desk didn't differ. Both of their eyes widened, one with hope and one with shock, their faces shot up to stare at him, asking if he was kidding. Melo shifted her eyes down to the little girl, looking younger as she stared at the older man. "Dumbledore- Are you sure? A child is so much responsibility- It's- a process from now until even after she turns seventeen. We have different steps you'll have to go through as a Wizard. She'll get public attention if it's you adopting her."

"Well." The old man stroked his beard once before turning to the girl, still staring up at him. "Child, is that okay?"

The eye contact was enough to trigger her voice inside his head, the quiet slightly trembling voice. _You want to keep me?_

A still aghast tone echoed, and he nodded toward her. Waiting on her slow nod back to him. The emerald forests of her eyes began to rain, and she reached one of her small hands up to brush it away.

"Yes. I think we're okay with that. First things first though. Papers, right Ms. Melo?"

It took a few seconds, before she moved, pushing her chair back and opening one of the drawers of her desk, pulling out a thick roll of parchment. Then she grabbed a quill off the side of her desk and let it float toward the old wizard. He gripped it from the air and set it against the paper at the desk. He wrote in a few lines, ignoring the shocked still expressions of those around him. After he reached the middle of the parchment, he turned back to the girl sitting next to him. "We must decide on your name."

The girl nodded her head.

"Chloe?" She shook her head. "Natasha?" No. "Patricia?" The girl's face scrunched a bit and she stuck out her tongue distastefully. "Tiffany?" No. "Ruth" No. "Kenna?" The girl seemed to consider it for a few seconds before shaking her head. Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle at her responses sticking to silence for a few minutes as he mulled over names. "Rowan?" No. "Hazel?" No. "Harmony?" Her expression turned from thoughtfulness to consideration and she shrugged. "What?"

_Kenna Hope?_

"Hope?" She nodded hesitantly. "Kenna Hope Dumbledore?" Again. She nodded. "Anything else you want to add? I have five. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore" The girl bit her lip with a petite smile. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, and she shook her head again, causing the man to laugh. Writing the name down.

Melo continued to watch the two's interaction, narrowing her eyes at how the girl silently communicated to the older man. She was almost too intelligent for a normal child. "Age: Seven. Hair: Light brown. Eyes: hmm. Kelly Green." He continued down the list, noting small things out loud for the young girl to hear him. She nodded her head when he did, confirming small things, such as hearing and eyesight. Skin color. It took about twenty minutes until they had finished the parchment, and the woman sitting across the desk was just then regaining her wits.

"Alright then. We'll have to interview you and review the appropriate housing for her. There's also interviewing any backup relatives- but we can save that for another day. As for housing where will you be staying most of the time?"

"Hogwarts."

"May I do a simple interview? How about next Tuesday- around four? I can head over when I finish here. You both can go get settled?"

"Four? Does that sound good Kenna Hope?" The girl nodded her head enthusiastically. "It sounds perfect Ms. Melo. Now. It seems we must go shopping. Get this one-" He lifted her back into his arms, where she comfortably rested her head against his shoulder. "Some nice dresses of her own, perhaps a few other items and a checkup at St. Mungos. I will make sure the gates are open for you next week."

As they walked out of the office, the newly named Kenna found some type of confidence. She became more attentive to where they walked and which way they turned. When they reached an empty hall, Dumbledore could hear her quiet question. _Why?_

"Why what?" Dumbledore turned his head to focus on the young brunette.

_Why did you adopt me?_

In a way, the professor could see the question coming from miles away. "I adopted you because you deserve the world." He stopped and sat on the feet of one of the stone figures, setting her on his lap so he could look her in the eyes. "The cards you've been dealt until now have been terrible. Somehow though, you have these skills that not even most adults could even try to attempt, and you've fought against all odds." Her eyes looked not only at him but through him, searching for the truth. "Your eyes have seen things that no child should see. You deserve the brightest future anyone could give you."

_Thank you._

"You have no reason to thank me just yet." Dumbledore smiled and adjusted her again on his arm.

All the way back the way they came, eventually they ended up at the Floo. The staring didn't seem to stop, but the young girl's care seemed to fly out of the window. She stared at the constant green of the fire and glanced back at the dark walls of the ministry.

As they paused before the green flames, the white-bearded man turned to the one in his arms. He let a small smile reach through his face. "We need to get you checked on first, so we're going to go to a Magical Hospital. Then we'll get those errands done."

Mungos wasn't as busy as it may have been the previous year after the fall of the dark lord, but there were still a lot of nurses on duty. As they walked in and approached the first front desk they saw, a woman stood up swiftly to respond to them. "Hello, how can I help you, Professor Dumbledore?"

"We'd like to get a checkup with one of the healers if that's okay? Is Poppy in this week?"

"Yes! She is. I can call her down if you'd like? I believe room three down this hall is open. You can wait there."

"Thank you." The old man adjusted the newly named Kenna on his arm and walked into the white room. There were a few simple pictures of landscapes on the wall that caught her attention enough to keep it away from the medical side of things. The interments were simple, a heartbeat monitor and blood pressure measure. While both looked rather Muggle, Dumbledore could only assume there were one or two magical additions to the simplistic creations.

It took a few minutes before the door opened and the nurse walked in. Fully in her robes, she was almost in full sentence before she stepped inside. "Dumbledore, I told you I'd be back to the school the week before classes. We-" it was only then that she noticed the small human being sitting on the table. "Oh. Hello, there child." The Nurse's entire demeanor changed with the youth in the room. The woman seemed to analyze the girl from head to toe, looking for any major visible injuries. Her eyes had light bags around them, and there seemed to be a cut or two on her face, light bruising around her neck.

"This is Kenna Hope, She's been living on the streets for a while, and I wanted to get a thorough checkup and see what you thought about her stability physically and mentally."

"Oh." Poppy nodded her head and moved closer, looking at the scratch on the girl's head with a gentle shift of her hair. "I'm Poppy Pomfrey. I'm a nurse at Hogwarts, where Dumbledore works. How old are you child?"

Looking for conformation, Kenna made eye contact with Dumbledore, who nodded his head in encouragement. When her gaze met Poppy's once more, she lifted her fingers back up to a solid 7 for the second time that day.

"Seven? You're so cute! I thought you were eight or nine!" The woman turned to the table and grabbed the light metal heart catcher. "Okay, I'm going to lift your shirt up a bit, here we go, and this will be cold, but I'm going to put it on your chest righ-" The woman, as she was lifting the shirt noticed the prominence of the child's ribs, and the light bruising surrounding them. "right here." She held it and listened for a few seconds before moving on to take the child's blood pressure.

After she had finished, she turned to Dumbledore. "Can you step outside?"

The old man nodded, looking at Kenna he watched her eyes widen an ounce. "I'll be right next to the door, okay?" She nodded and he shut the door behind him.

About ten or so minutes later, Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her, turning to Dumbledore with one of the most pained expressions he had seen in a long time. "She... she needs a lot of care." There was a pause as the woman looked down to her notes. "From what I can make out, her Larnyx – the voice box- is damaged, mainly from being unused, I don't know if she has ever spoken a full word. She's twice as small as other girls her age and extremely malnourished. Her feet are damaged, especially the soles, they'll heal, but it'll scar. Most of her injuries will scar if they haven't already." The woman ran a hand through her hair after taking off her hat. "The scars on her back are definitely from whipping, she responds with caution, I can only imagine the mental abuse she's suffered through."

"I can't imagine"

"And on the streets? She had to be there for at least a month or two. I- I fear that her abuse wasn't only in the nature of harm and physical abuse. There's evidence of… of rape. Recent rape."

Dumbledore could only close his eyes and look at the door that held the child. "then it's worse than I thought."

"Yes. What are you going to do with her? She needs-"

"I've adopted her."

"A lovin- you what?" Her expression changed once more to shock.

"I adopted her earlier today at the ministry. They said that she would be put in a home, and her chances were grim until she turned eleven. I thought it'd be in her best interest to live at Hogwarts with me."

The woman let her mouth drop, words trying to form, but being wildly unsuccessful.

Dumbledore continued. "I've got an extra room attached to my office, and she's intelligent beyond her age group. Someone will always have an eye on her in the castle. She'll be well-fed"

"You adopted a child."

"Kenna Hope Dumbledore."

The nurse continued to stare at the headmaster with her mouth open, still attempting to make words.

Dumbledore continued to answer a few questions before they were asked. "We'll figure out a way to give her a basic education between the staff we have at the school. She'll have space and exposure to other children. It's already been done."

Pursing her lips, the poor woman nodded her head. "Alright. Let me walk to the staff room and grab a few things then. You can go in and sit with her" Poppy didn't give the Headmaster any time to argue as she walked passed him and down the hall practically mumbling to herself.

Opening the door Dumbledore stepped back in and watched as Kenna played with her stuffed Cat, continuing to lift its ear or its tail and shaking its paw. She was very gentle and as he walked in, she pulled it to her in what looked to be a hug. He couldn't help but smile at her small reaction for comfort as he approached her and sat down on the medical bed beside her. "Poppy is going to get a few things for us to keep you healthy. Then, I think, we will head over to Diagon Ally and get you lunch and a few more things—Like a new bedspread maybe?" When he glanced down Kenna was staring at him, listening, but not responding. "We can get a few outfits. Maybe find a book for you to read or a few games…" Dumbledore paused again. "Then, perhaps, we can go back to the Castle and get you another bath. Dinner. And I might have to run an errand or two, but we'll wait and see."

The young one nodded her head after he paused and stared at him with her big green orbs.

Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle and flip the ear of her stuffed cat to take her attention off him for a moment. He could feel her natural attempt at seeing his thoughts when she stared into his eyes. A natural Legilimens. She didn't just project, she snuck her way into hearing people's thoughts. He hadn't noticed it before but was suddenly much more aware of her mental presence. If he focused, he could hear her projection of the voice that she imagined her cat to make, she'd have a conversation with it, continuing to move its hands and legs and tail.

After few moments of quiet, Dumbledore listening to the mental communication Kenna innocently projected to her furry friend, Nurse Poppy walked back in through the door with a different healer in toe. The healer was also female, and while Kenna was cautious of the newcomer, she looked to Albus for confirmation of safety. He could only nod to her and reassure her.

"Healer Lita wanted to do one quick checkup before we give you pain medication and vitamins to take home with you both. Is it alright if Dumbledore leaves one more time for us to check your health?"

Albus turned to his new daughter and watched her eyes move between him and the two medical professionals she didn't really know. With a very hesitant nod, the eldest in the room made his way out and sat on the bench next to the door where he could hear very quietly the voices inside the room. He also allowed his new ward to peek into his pleasant thoughts and plans for the day, feeling her calm as they had her remove her clothes and lightly prodded at sometimes painful places on her skin.

This exam took a bit longer than the previous one, with a quick break of her presence in his mind as the doctor checked her own mental wellbeing with a light Legilimency spell that ended rather quickly once the youth slapped her mind shut after two too many horrible memories were touched.

Healer Lita took a step out of the room once they had finished, looking down at her chart and shaking her head, and then back up to Dumbledore. "She's a legilimens." The doctor confirmed for him. "She's going to need speech therapy, but she's got a full handle on the language." The man before her nodded his head, taking his own mental notes. "She was raped in her time on the streets, and that's induced a lot of trauma on both her mind and her body. I'd like to get her another checkup in a few months to see how she's healed." Again, Dumbledore nodded. "I couldn't tell who she lived with before, but they too were abusive, and she has suffered through an unforgivable, at least once, likely more than that- as the memory is just one of the freshest and she was not happy at me looking."

"I'm thankful for your help healer."

"Don't be thankful yet. She's got a long way to go. I am prescribing her a few options, including a variety of dreamless sleep potions for you to switch after nightmares. They will be common now that she's beginning to feel safer. You need to make sure she's not eating too much food and that what she does eat is nutrition heavy." There was another pause as she glanced down at her chart. "You'll also need to watch her activity level very closely. Because she's malnourished, she's at a higher risk for fainting and dizziness moments, and her body is not strong enough to be carrying things or running. She needs to gain weight and muscle mass before she can begin playing games that raise her heart rate, and, even then, she has a bit of a heart palpitation, which could be from the unforgivable, it could be from trauma, it could be hereditary. I'm not sure if she'll grow out of it, but we need to keep an eye on it."

Again, Dumbledore nodded his head, feeling the weight of her pain once more lie on his shoulders. More than anything, determination to protect her even more from the terrible pains that began her life.

"I can send you a letter and we can arrange a follow-up date. I'm sure she's ready to get out of this hospital at this point."

"I'd imagine." Dumbledore felt a small smile creep on his face, ready himself to find brighter things to think about. He took a step into the room and made eye contact with his new family member. Her eyes were a bit watery, and he could feel that she was beginning to get uncomfortable. Her stuffed animal was white-knuckled to her chest as poppy finished tying her dress.

He motioned a hand to her, and she slid off the table and mad her way over to him, putting a hand on his stomach. Quickly noticing what that meant, he bent down and lifted her up to his chest, letting her attempt to bury her face into his collar bone. The other two women both gave him small, sad smiles and he thanked them before making his way to an apparition space in the hospital.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 2! Don't forget to Comment!**


	5. Shopping and Hidden Brilliance

She pointed at the sky-blue bedspread. It had clouds and birds scattered across it and after one light touch to the soft material he could see the determination on her face. After lunch, of which she had been very indecisive, they made a list of things that she would need. He had told her that she would be in full command of telling him what she liked and disliked. He made it seem very important, and very serious that she makes decisions. Alas, she seemed to take each decision then with determination, a small fire lit in her eyes when she told him something she wanted. Meanwhile, when others glanced at her or stopped to speak to him, she receded into his cloak like a kangaroo into its mother's pocket, but the headmaster could tell that she felt safe with him. More scared at being taken away than anything else.

They picked a few more bedding pieces before walking to the cashier and packing them into Dumbledore's bag, which had been magically enlarged to fit the onslaught of things that she'd need. It was then they made their way to a clothing store. Clothes were much more difficult than bedspreads had been. His ward was very small and tended to swim a little bit in the clothes that they tried on. After getting a handful of outfits, all of which were slightly altered, Dumbledore put in an order for custom made clothing to fit her a bit better in size and stature. They then made their way to get her hair trimmed, for which she sat extremely still and stiff for, anxious about the sharp scissors that floated and made their way around her head. He only had the hairdresser cut off two inches after they professionally washed it. It shone a light brown with the occasional streak of nearly blond hair.

Following that, Dumbledore finally took her to one of the children's shops in a small offshoot of Diagon Ally. His choice was extremely wise, as they walked in and he could feel the excitement make its way off her and around the room. There were stacks of stuffed animals on one side, a section for children's books, puzzles, coloring materials, as well as cars, dolls, action figures, and board games. The look on her face was the first one he had seen of child-like astonishment.

"Fifteen items." He said aloud and watched her bite her lip and look around again.

Watching her decision process was delightful for the old man. She stood in front of the stuffed animals, unmoving for five minutes before shaking eight paws and choosing three. She then made her way to the cars and chose two. One deck of cards was picked, after consulting with Dumbledore that he knew both single-player and multiple player games. She then chose six books, ranging from a picture book of a cat on the cover to a 3rd-year level novel about a detective. She chose three puzzles, and when Dumbledore noticed her glancing at the coloring books he allowed her to grab three and colored pencils.

Their basket was very full when they finally paid, the store owner curious and friendly, but too shy to ask why the Headmaster of Hogwarts was shopping for a 7-year-old.

By the time they finished, Dumbledore picked up the child and apparated back to the castle, making his way onto the grounds and toward the main entrance. Just after climbing the stairs, he realized the young one in his arms had nodded off to sleep, not minding the slight jostling that he made when he walked with her. The soft smile that she had on her face was the pillar of innocence, and when he finally laid her down in bed for a nap, he couldn't help but adjust her newly cut hair out of her face and sit next to her for a few moments, adjusting her first stuffed animal in her arms. When she sighed, he made his way back to his office to let Fawkes in and to get a little bit of work done, including sending out a few letters from owls he called down to the perch at his window.

Kenna woke up about 10 minutes before Minerva arrived to respond to his recently sent letter. The young one still moved very lightly on her feet and he had hardly noticed her approach him at his desk. Her mental reach just softly pressed against his own, gathering his attention to her presence. When Minerva did enter his office, she found the young girl sitting on Albus's lap, looking at a book he had open as his pen finished his letter for him and he flipped the page. The moment the elder woman entered, the young girl perked up and watched her once more with bright green eyes. This time though, she was dressed in a much newer outfit, and her hair was gently pulled back into a ponytail.

"Albus," She couldn't help but sigh, realizing the result of their visit to the ministry.

"Minerva! Let me re-introduce my daughter Kenna Hope Dumbledore."

The elder woman couldn't help but sigh and shake her head. Still, a gracious smile made its way to her face and she gave a careful and somewhat distant wave. The girl responded with the same.

"I was hoping we could review Professor arrivals and re-visit our welcome back meeting to equip for our new castle-guest." The headmaster smiled down at the small one on his lap. Minerva had to assume they were conversing silently as Dumbledore nodded his head and said aloud "I'm sure they'll all like you very much."

While the Head of Gryffindor House was annoyed at the headmaster for refusing to allow the girl to be adopted by another, she could understand how difficult it would be to refuse her huge green eyes that showed nearly every emotion that went through her mind. The girl's talent also seemed to do wonders for her impression, and Minerva felt even more curious about what the future for her would bring.

"I'm sure we can adjust the schedule a little bit. Miss Kenna may have to sit in on a few classes during the week, but I'm sure Hagrid would love to have some help with tending to the grounds."

"That is a great idea. I also wanted to make sure it was okay that I specified you alongside my brother as an emergency contact and next of kin. Kenna, do you mind taking your book over to the chair to read while we chat about work?" The small girl nodded her head and folded the corner of her book, shutting it and slipping off her new father's lap. As she walked by Minerva, the older woman was able to make out the title of the novel: _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. _The girl plopped herself down on the chair closest to the bookshelf and seemed to curl right into it, opening her book once more and burying her nose in it.

Minerva looked back to Dumbledore.

"I know you mentioned you were going to head on vacation tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure we got a chance to chat before then."

"I will be back the week before the term begins. Our trip will not be long, and you can always contact me." The woman looked at the young girl once more. "You're sure you want a child running around this castle?"

"She will be fine, I'm sure of it. I plan on making introductions to other castle members before the end of the week."

"The elves?"

"Yes, as well as Filch and the ghosts,"

"And you're positive that will go over?"

"I think it will be best for her to avoid as many surprises as possible. And Peeves is not known for his ability to stay hidden or calm."

Minerva nodded, though she was still skeptical of the expressed plan.

Minerva and Dumbledore paused as they looked at the girl sitting on the chair. She almost seemed to disappear curled up the way she was. She kept her nose in the book and traced the moving pictures with her finger as she read. Soon, the two adults became caught up in the discussion of classes and schedules, trying to formulate a good program and way about having a child in the castle. Minerva was not very happy but knowing what was done was done she began to try and look out for the small girl's best interest. For all intents and purposes, she was now her godmother.

Occasionally they would glance over to see if the girl was still engrossed in her book. Curled up, she was facing the adults so they couldn't see what she was reading about, but she seemed to be very interested and was almost flying through the book. Minerva knew that Fantastic Beasts was a common love for young children and first-year students, as it included a ton of creatures and moving pictures.

After about half an hour there was movement over by the chair. Fawkes had hopped off his stand and made his way over to her. Perched on the chair cushion he seemed to nudge the young girl. She carefully reached out a hand to scratch underneath the bird's wing feathers, causing it to adjust and shake its body. Dumbledore paused their conversation and they both watched the girl as she flipped through the pages and lifted the book up for the bird to see, pointing at something. The bird seemed to peck at the book and then at the girl once more. It tugged on her stuffed animal and she ultimately moved to the floor next to the chair to engage in what looked to be like a game.

Minerva watched very carefully. Fawkes had always been a figure in the headmaster's office, but she'd never seen him interact in such a way with a child. The young girl seemed to be having a conversation with it, and phoenixes were smart animals, but Minerva was pretty sure they didn't speak English or any commonly spoken language in the wizarding world.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "She seems to have quite an interest in animals. I think she'll love helping Hagrid and Kettleburn on their off days"

The transfiguration professor just nodded her head and gave him a small smile. "She could probably help in the owlery too."

The two professors continued their conversation and mapping out the school class schedule, trying to make marks where Kenna would fit in. They had her sitting in a few of McGonagall's older transfiguration classes, deemed to be safer, and a few of the younger student's care of magical creatures and herbology classes. They also were beginning to make a plan for her own education, including Arithmetic and Basic writing skills.

"I did take her to the hospital, and they said her vocal cords are not fully developed for lack of use. So, we'll need to work on building up her language ability."

Knowing she was the topic of the conversation, Kenna sat quietly and watched the adults, half mindedly petting the phoenix that was trying to bury its head in her armpit. "Well, that will need to be taken slowly. I can assist with her learning Latin, it would be good preparation for her time in school. I'm pretty sure Flitwick speaks French as well, we should try to make sure she practices all the sounds now. There are one or two students that arrive at Hogwarts and struggle to make the proper incantations because of their pronunciation."

"Or is it their intentions?" Dumbledore smiled. "That's always been a very curious science without many studies done on it. As has the use of wands, she almost seems to have control over her magic without one."

The transfiguration professor seemed a little less than sure about that. At another glance though, they both realized the girl was listening to them.

"Kenna. How does afternoon tea sound to you, love?"

As a response, the girl nodded her head and made her way to the desk. Dumbledore called a house-elf in to prepare a table and the tea and offered a seat to McGonagall, and then one in between them to Kenna. The girl scrambled up onto the chair, which had to be raised slightly higher for her to reach the table properly. Tea and biscuits landed gently a moment later, and Dumbledore set to pouring the tea. He brought the girl into the conversation this time around. "Did you finish your book?"

She nodded her head.

"What was your favorite creature in it?"

Phoenix. She hadn't touched either of the adults, but they could both hear her voice in their heads. McGonagall tried to keep the surprise off her face when she realized that Dumbledore had heard the girl as well. He just nodded his head to her. The answer was almost immediate, and Fawkes ruffled his feathers from where he sat back on his perch. He let out a bit of a squawk as well.

"And your second favorite creature?"

The girl pouted for a moment as she thought about them. Mooncalves.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Mooncalves?"

They have long necks and big eyes and they live in burrows and they come out during the full moon, they make crop circles and they dance and stand on their hind legs. They confuse muggles and their dung makes plants grow fast and strong. They are nonviolent and they have pale gray fur and they are worldwide. They are two x classified and can be domesticated.

Both the adults blinked.

"Kenna, have you read about Mooncalves before?"

The girl shook her head.

McGonagall took a sip of her tea. "Do you remember the whole page?"

In a second, as if a picture had been taken, the page showed up in both adult's brains. It was a little fuzzy on the outskirts, but they could very easily make out her hands at the edge of the book and the text inside. The girl took a bite of her biscuit after dipping it in the tea-like she'd seen Dumbledore do and she looked up at the adults.

Dumbledore gave her a small smile, he glanced at Minerva. "I believe this one also has a photographic memory." He sounded proud and took a sip of his tea, then winking at the two others at the table. Kenna perked up.

What does that mean?

"It means you remember everything you see."

The little girl sat and thought for a few minutes as if looking over her own memories. She frowned. Do people not remember everything?

Dumbledore shook his head. "I sometimes forget one of my middle names!" The girl blinked once more and gave him a look of confusion. She didn't need to ask him why, because the question was already on her face.

"Most people remember things for short times, but after a long time, they forget them. Do you remember all the books you've read?" The girl nodded her head. She sent two more mental pictures, one that looked like it was in a dark and dusty library with a book of dark arts, and another with a cookbook in a kitchen where the counters were almost too big for the young girl to reach. It seemed to answer her question with a yes.

"You are a brilliant child Kenna; did you know that?"

Minerva nodded her head in conformation, and the smallest person at the table took a sip of her tea. Swallowing it, she responded to Dumbledore with an awkward smile, her teeth showing just as he did when he smiled. It wasn't a natural smile just yet, she seemed to still be looking for a smile that matched her normally serious features. While the future still needed to be planned, Minerva McGonagall knew at that moment this girl would be one of the most important people to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. There was no way this child was not going to be brilliant at everything she'd set her mind to. At 7 years old, the professor was almost sure she had never met a child as talented or as sweet at the one that attentively listened to the adults as they talked about magical creatures. Minerva mentioned being partial to Kneazles.


	6. Introductions

The next morning Dumbledore was the first one to wake up. He passed Kenna's room on his way to the main office and saw her curled up. Her whole body wrapped around the stuffed animal and only half her body was covered by her sheets. Her mouth was partially open, and her hair had mostly fallen out of the braid they'd put it in the night before. Her facial expression was content and it took a lot of will power for him not to laugh.

Making his way to his desk, Dumbledore spent the first hour writing a few letters to take up to the owlery and checking his never-ending stack of mail. He heard movement down the hall before the bathroom door shut. Noting that his new daughter was now awake, he sent a note down to the kitchens to have breakfast brought up. At about the same time the food arrived, Kenna walked into the office. She looked at the food before turning to see the headmaster.

"Good morning sunshine!" He said brightly.

The young one blinked up at him, and he could tell she was still half asleep. He chuckled and walked over to pick her up. Once she was held at his hip he walked both of them over to the breakfast table. Once she was sitting at her chair she stared at her options for a moment before reaching for a biscuit. Slowly, she woke up and became more aware. He could tell with her breakfast consumption. As requested by those at St. Mungos, he'd made sure that all of the meals and options placed in front of her were nutrition heavy. He tried to encourage her to have a little of everything and to serve herself. She understood the concept of only eating as much as she could handle. Unfortunately, as much as she could handle was still very little. She ate like a rabbit, both with the amount she took and when she picked up finger foods with both of her hands and nibbled. Dumbledore couldn't complain too much, as she was eating more than the days before even if the change seemed micro. Once she was beginning to slow down on food intake, she started to watch him.

"Today I think we should walk the school grounds. I need to take some things up to the owlery, and you can get a bit more familiar with the school. I think we could also visit Filch and a few others here in the castle."

Kenna nodded her head in confirmation.

"First though, why don't you go get dressed and we can comb out and braid your hair again." Before he was even finished with his sentence the girl was climbing down from her chair with one of her cheeks still filled with half an orange. She left her stuffed animal on the table and barely took two steps before spinning around and summoning it to her. He watched it float straight into her awaiting hand. "come out here if you need any help" Dumbledore was able to say before she scuttled back down the hallway and into her room. She spun around at his voice and gave him a short nod and a curtsy. He'd come to terms with the curtsies being some form of politeness that he wasn't sure if he should address just yet.

The door remained open, and soon she was walking out with half of her dress unlaced, her hair in a mass of unbraided curls, a comb. Her cat had been traded for her bear and her shoes were precariously hanging from her fingers. She dropped one shoe on the floor because her hands were full, and slipped it onto one foot instead of leaning down to carry it. Dumbledore admired her bright eyes and excitement, even though she always tried to suppress it. He had a feeling she too was wondering the likelihood of her luck changing. She was still cautious with what he did, and always did her best to avoid upsetting him by doing everything he asked of her immediately and always saying yes if he invited her to do something.

Dumbledore finished off his tea and moved the slightly lifted chair so he could sit behind it. Kenna set her stuffed animal down first, very gently onto the chair. Then she placed the second shoe down, handed the comb to Dumbledore and turned around for him to finish with her dress. He knew this was only their second day together, but he could tell she was already getting more confident with how she held herself. He laced up the back of her dress and ran his fingers gently through her curls. They were a half-inch longer than her shoulders. She held very still. Dumbledore summoned a mirror for her to see him in. At the appearance, she jumped, but when they made eye contact through the mirror, Dumbledore smiled at her.

"What do you think? Should we do two tails," He pulled her hair into two pigtails at the top of her head watching as the natural ringlets bounced, "Or should we do one braid down the front and to the side," He put his finger on her forehead and mapped out a French braid, "Or we can braid the front and leave the back down?" Again, he pulled the hair he was thinking about back to show her.

She stared wild-eyed at the mirror thinking about her choices. She wasn't used to having a choice in anything still.

_The third one._

It sounded more like a question than it did an answer, but Dumbledore nodded and pulled the comb softly through the hair in the front of her face. After a few moments of silence, as he began to braid the first side of her hair into two small braids, he spoke up again. "We need to work on your pronunciations aloud. Do you want to start with the alphabet today?"

_Why?_

Dumbledore paused and made eye contact with the young one again. He'd forgotten what smaller children were like because he spent so little time around them. She was young, but the curiosity in her eyes was slowly finding its own way into her voice. Her personality was edging out of her shyness.

"Because some people don't like speaking non-verbally, and many do not know how."

_Why?_

He chuckled and finished his first small braid, starting the second one. "They don't know how because it's a very difficult thing to do. And they feel like you are going into their head. And many people want their head to be private, so we need to respect their privacy and ask them verbally if it is okay first." She went to nod her head but realized that his hands were still working on her hair, so she stiffened a little bit. Her tongue licked her lips as she opened her mouth.

"A" Her voice was very rough and very small. It sounded like she was sick, even though she was the healthiest she'd been in years. She tried to clear her throat, but the level stayed very low. "B" She put her hand to her throat and continued through the letter M. Dumbledore had moved on to the next set of braids when she started coughing. He paused and pulled the apple juice from the table over to them magically. The girl took a drink.

"That's good for today. We can do more after lunch, a little every day, okay?"

Her lips pursed a little and her legs kicked out beneath the chair. She stared at herself and at Dumbledore in the mirror watching his hands carefully move through her hair. Dumbledore hummed a jolly tune as he pulled the rest of her hair back and turned the hair tie into a purple bow to match her purple dress. "Purple is my favorite color you know." Kenna stared at him curiously.

_Why?_

Dumbledore put his head next to hers. "I don't know. Not everything has a reason." He winked at her shocked expression in the mirror before helping her down from the chair. She slipped on her shoes while Dumbledore walked over to grab his small bag and place his letters in it.

They made their way up multiple staircases, having to detour once because one of the staircases they needed was in a different position. Dumbledore pointed to the missing stair as they walked up the staircases and he pointed out some of the main rooms- McGonagall's office, The staff conference room. They passed an art room and Dumbledore motioned to some of the drawings students had done over the years. Kenna met quite a few of the portraits and their varying personalities. She didn't speak when they were introduced, but almost always offered a small smile and a wave.

She couldn't remember any moving photos where she'd been before. But maybe because her memories were always outlined with darkness?

Just before they reached the final staircase for the west tower, Dumbledore spotted one more person, sitting on a bench next to a suit of armor with a book in her hand.

"Hello, Helena. How are you this morning?"

"I am fine. People will be returning soon. I will miss the quiet of the Castle" She took notice of the small girl just behind the headmaster and gave her a polite smile. "I've heard of a child being in the castle. She is rather small."

"Yes, this is Kenna Hope, our newest resident." At the introduction the girl curtseyed, causing the woman to give her another smile. "She is actually quite the book worm" He turned to speak to Kenna. "This is Helena Ravenclaw, she's the ghost of the Ravenclaw house. If you need a book recommendation, she's read nearly all of them. Am I right?"

"I gravitate toward the fiction, but yes, I am available if she needs me."

Kenna gave the woman a smile in return and waved as she floated away from them. She looked up at Dumbledore in wonder. "She likes quiet places in the castle. Today's nice outside, and the view from the owlery is very pleasant." He opened the final door in the hall to the said location.

The room was slightly colder than the hallway, and it was easy to tell why with the lack of glass in the windows. Multiple birds hooted at their entrance. Kenna took half a step backward before moving closer to Dumbledore, still curious. They were much smaller than Fawkes, but Dumbledore didn't say anything. Instead, he lifted her up and pulled his letters out of his bag, setting them down alongside some of the owl treats. "This is how we send mail." He showed the name on the envelope to his daughter, and then to the first owl he pulled down. He gave it a treat, and then tied the letter to its leg before walking it to the window.

He got the second owl and set it next to Kenna, carefully taking her hand and showing her how to feed it and tie the letter around its foot. Together, they sent out seven letters with the owls before they began to head down the stairs once more. Kenna asked Dumbledore how many rooms were in the castle, to which he just chuckled.

"I'd never counted. Hogwarts has many secrets, no one knows all of them. I'm sure you'll get a chance to explore, but it is very big, so maybe for the first few months we can have you stay close to people you know and the rooms you know." They continued the brief tour, walking passed his office again which he gave her the password to and explained the purpose of passwords, they walked past the great hall, and he pointed out the pear to tickle to get into the kitchen. Eventually, they reached the entrance hall. Dumbledore pointed to the staircase that leads to the boats and asked Kenna if she knew how to swim.

The girl was very quick to shake her head. She informed him she'd never been to a place with water. Dumbledore just nodded. "We'll see about getting you some lessons in swimming then. Hogwarts has a hidden swimming pool after all" The old man gave her a sly grin as the doors opened. It was about 11am, and with a slight breeze, the weather was nearly perfect. Kenna squinted up at Dumbledore who covered his forehead like a visor. "We can go down to the lake, and around to the Quidditch pitch."

Kenna nodded and sniffed the air. After being in London, it was much fresher. She could smell the trees and the grass and the water. She turned and looked back at the entrance to the school. It was so big. When she glanced over her shoulder, Dumbledore was already halfway down the staircase. She bounced down them after him.

They walked around the castle and down the hill to the lake first, Dumbledore making his way to the edge. He pointed out toward the middle of the lake were large squid tentacles seemed to poke out, bathing in the sun. Kenna stood on her tip-toes to try and get a better look, and Dumbledore lifted her a little higher. The squid gave a wave, and Kenna waved back. The wizard noticed that her smile was a lot more outgoing towards the squid than it had been toward the ghosts and photographs they'd met earlier. Dumbledore also mentioned the Merpeople that lived in the lake, causing the girl to search the water in hopes of finding one.

"Maybe after some swimming lessons we can go visit. I have not been down to see them in quite a while." Dumbledore laughed at her big eyes and how quickly she nodded her head. Her curiosity seemed to be growing as the day went on.

From the edge of the lake, they made their way past Hagrid's hut, which Dumbledore identified. He mentioned the field where care of magical creatures usually took place when they were outside. Behind it and surrounding the lake was the forest. Dumbledore knelt down so he was eye to eye with Kenna. "This is the Forbidden forest. You know what that means, right?"

_You shouldn't go there?_

"Very good. Unless Hagrid or another adult like myself is with you, you shouldn't go in there alone. There are all kinds of beasts and creatures that live there and we don't want you to get hurt." Noting Dumbledore's tone, Kenna nodded her head enthusiastically. She wanted to please Dumbledore with her compliance. And, She made one big glance into the darkness of the forest, She figured it was probably too dark and scary to go in alone anyway. They continued to walk around the grounds of the school, Dumbledore noting when Kenna seemed to get more tired. She started to walk slower and had to focus more on the ground infront of her. He began to pause more often to point things out, before exclaiming it was time to head back up to the castle.

As they made their way up the hill to the school and Dumbledore promised they'd make it out to see Hogsmeade within the next few weeks for a staff dinner at one of the inns. He swooped down to pick her up when they reached the stairwell. Kenna relaxed in his arms but still watched the direction they were going in. He opened the door magically and they moved back into the main entryway. They walked toward the staircase when Dumbledore noticed the tail in of a cat. "Mrs. Norris?" He slightly called to her, causing the cat to turn and make its way closer to the two guests. It's bright eyes followed them as it sat. "Might you take us to Mr. Filch, our school caretaker?" Dumbledore asked.

The cat seemed to understand the request and trotted away from them and up one of the staircases. Dumbledore adjusted his new daughter and followed after. They walked down the second-floor hall past some storerooms and study rooms. Filch noticed them immediately when they turned the corner. He was in the midst of polishing some of the photo frames on the floor, a rag in his hands and potion of some sort. He adjusted himself when he saw Dumbledore. It wasn't common for them to cross paths unless one of them searched the other out. Filch liked his routine during the summer. He'd walk the grounds, do five chores a day, and then rest and listen to his radio or something similar. The man frowned when he saw Dumbledore was not alone. His eyes narrowing at the child.

"Good Afternoon Mr. Filch."

"Headmaster" The slouched man picked up the cat and stood a little taller.

"I'd like to introduce you to my new daughter, Kenna. Kenna, this is Mr. Filtch the castle caretaker."

The man grunted at her. "Do we really need another hobgoblin running around?" He grumbled out. "You need to show her all the rules for forbidden items. and you need to remind her not to be out after hours. And also I'd like to reinstate the Manacle punishment with the students this year." He began to go on, his eyes still pointedly watching Kenna. The young girl shrunk into Dumbledore under his gaze, but she didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry but I will not be allowing that I don't believe students' parents would be very forgiving." Dumbledore shifted the young girl a little more on his hip. Her eyes remained watching Filtch's every move. "Kenna will be staying out of your hair, but if you have any concerns you can address them with me." While his voice was gentle, there was an underlying tone of authority that even Filtch could catch on to. He grumbled inaudibly but nodded his head and shoulders. He set Mrs. Norris back on the ground and returned to his cleaning.

Albus paused and watched him, glancing at Kenna before making his way back to the staircases. He was surprised Kenna didn't flinch at Filch's bad attitude toward her. She took it in stride, though she did hold on to the old man a little tighter. Once they walked away, she trembled in his arms. She looked up at Dumbledore and he saw a glimpse of something a little more haunted in her eyes. At the slight nudge into her mind, he realized her walls were up higher than he was willing to climb to see what was wrong. Leaving it alone for a moment, he gave her a reassuring smile as they walked. While his original plan was to go straight back to his office for lunch, he decided to take a detour to make her feel a little more comfortable again.

Instead, he led her to the library. They were able to make four more introductions with ghosts, who were spreading themselves out to meet the new castle member. It slowed his progress, But with each ghost she seemed a little more comfortable with their presence. Dumbledore hoped that she'd find a way to get along with each of them better. He did notice that the more you could see their cause of death or the more dangerous they looked – such as the bloody baron – the more likely she was to close off. The safety mechanism she'd developed was unusual, but she was not a normal child, to begin with.

Their entrance into the library was met with Kenna's widened eyes of excitement. The walls of books and large tables created a maze that she walked further into on her own, without Dumbledore's prompting. He realized it may take more effort than he'd originally expected to keep her out of the library and maintain an eye on the types of books she was reading. He also realized he should probably speak with Madam Pince, the librarian to make rules for the number of books she could check out at a time. If she was anything like him growing up, she would stack up the books faster than she could read them. As Kenna made her way around, Dumbledore thought about the possibility of putting two bookshelves in her room for the books she'd inevitably collect in the next few years. Perhaps once she finished the ones they bought in Diagon Ally they would need to make a more specific trip to Flourish and Botts for a better selection. He also wondered if he should get her a journal to write in.

_Can I take one?_

His thoughts were brought back into the library when he noticed Kenna was standing across the room and staring at him. Her hand was on the spine of a book. Giving her a small smile, he shook his head. "We must wait until Madam Pince, the librarian returns to check a book out to you. You have a few to finish upstairs too. If you finish those before she returns then we can sit down here in one of the large chairs and read without taking books out. Is that okay?" Kenna digested his words for a few moments before nodding her head. She ran her finger down the spine of the book she wanted and then walked back over to him. Her hand took his.

_I want to read. _She told him. He wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but he let her walk him out the library door.

"Let's get lunch in my office and then you can read for as long as you want."

The girl looked at him and nodded her head. Then she led the way up the staircases two more floors. He was relieved to note that her memory seemed to include directions and locations. She knew exactly where she was going and how to get there. When they arrived at the door she didn't say anything, but rather looked up at him. Dumbledore said the password and they stepped onto the stairs.

When his office door opened, he noted that Fawks had returned. The bird ruffled its feathers and looked at them when they walked in. Kenna zig-zagged over to him. The head tilt the bird gave her left space on its neck for her to scratch. She seemed to know exactly what he wanted and let her fingers softly press into his neck. Dumbledore walked around them and set his bag on the desk. He called up a house-elf and requested lunch be brought to them. The elf told him it would take a few minutes but it would be right up.

Kenna kept her body turned toward both him and the elf, and even while petting Fawks she tracked the elf's movements in the room with a hyperaware eye. She tensed when the elf disappeared, not fully comfortable with its ability to come and go as it pleased. Dumbledore once again noted her behavior in the back of his mind and motioned her over to sit down in the comfy armchair across from his desk. The girl looked at Fawkes for a moment, he could guess she was saying something or other to the bird before she pat the feathers down quickly and scampered into the chair. When she settled she watched the older man lower himself onto his own office chair.

"What do you want to do tomorrow for our walk?"

_I want to see the owls again._

He couldn't help but smile. Animals sounded like a good way into the child's good graces. "We can do that." He watched her as she looked down at his desk.

_Do you have the list?_ She asked. A child of few words, Dumbledore wasn't too sure what she was talking about at that moment.

"What list?"

She replayed the moment in her mind when Filtch had told him he needed to make sure she knew the list of items that were unacceptable in the castle. And the rules. Dumbledore chuckled.

"You don't need to worry about that."

There was a pause where the girl shifted her body on the chair. She pulled her feet up under her. Her eyes shifted down. _I don't want to make him angry. _The haunted look briefly returned. Rather than fidgeting, she sat still and silent. Dumbledore thought for a moment on what the proper response should be. He decided to go with comfort.

"Kenna Hope Dumbledore," he began. "No one in this castle will hurt you. Fitch gets angry easily but I'm sure you will not have many run-ins with him, and he is not allowed to hurt you or any other student." He watched her reactions. She nodded to herself and relaxed. Her eyes met his with a little more trust then she gave him a small and reassuring smile. Dumbledore smiled back.

* * *

**A/N: The first five chapters have been written on my computer for months, it may take a while to get the others up neatly. The more Reviews though, the more likely I'll get them finished quicker. As I've said before, this story has been planned out for a while, it's just fishing all the details together into a single piece.**

**Lots of Love from the Middle of Nowhere Asia!**


End file.
